50 years in the fast lane for Hot Wheels

Iconic global toy brand Hot Wheels is celebrating its 50th anniversary on 18th May with the release of a limited-edition Throwback collection that's every motor heads' dream.

The new models pay homage to the "Original 16" range of designs inspired by Californian muscle cars and hot rods from the late 60s and 70s, including the original custom Camero, the first Hot Wheels car ever made.

Hot Wheels was born when Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler challenged his design team, which included a General Motors car designer and a rocket scientist, to create a toy car that was cooler and performed better than anything on the market.

What they created was the first-ever trackable toy car. Elliot was so impressed when he first saw the car rolling along the floor he said, "those are some hot wheels."

Hot Wheels went on to influence car culture and real-world car design by creating cars that looked radically different from anything else on the road in 1968.

Chedney Rodgers, Mattel ANZ Director of Marketing, says a lot has changed since the blue Camero first came off the production line in 1968.

"Over the years Hot Wheels has continued to break barriers, even Guinness World Records, so it's no surprise that 50 years on, Hot Wheels diecast cars remain the number one selling toy in the world," she says.

Hot Wheels rich history and quirky facts includes:• Hot Wheels holds three-world records• 20,000 different variations of Hot Wheels cars exist with 400 new designs released each year• The most expensive Hot Wheels ever sold was the Beach Bomb® for USD $72,000• Darth Vader is the best-selling Hot Wheels character car• Hot Wheels is sold in over 150 countries• Hot Wheels is the #1 selling toy in the world*• #HotWheels is shared every 30 seconds on social media• The first life-size Hot Wheels was the Twin Mill® in 2001. Hot Wheels currently has a total of 19 life-size cars• The largest Hot Wheels collection is worth over USD $1M and is owned by famed US collector Bruce Pascal

The limited-edition Hot Wheels 'Throwback to the Original 16' collection anniversary range retails from $9 and is available from Big W until stocks last.

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